Checking Out a " New " Track

While many of our racing friends spent the weekend in Knoxville, Darryl and I headed south to check out the renovated and renamed Randolph County Raceway in Moberly,Mo. After going through more than a handful of owners and promoters, the 4/10 mile track which started out as a dirt track, then was changed to asphalt, then back to dirt, had pretty much been left to die. But last year David and Janelle Claypoole purchased it with big plans and high hopes. The first thing they did was take up the dirt surface to remove the asphalt from underneath, then rebuilt the dirt oval. After doing their homework, they settled on a six class Saturday night program for 2013 featuring ULMA late models and USRA modifieds and B mods, as well as USRA  stock cars, USRA hobby stocks, and hornets, with several special events such as sprint cars and truck pulls added in. While the " fender " car classes have struggled a bit with car counts, the late models have held their own and the modified classes have thrived. As with most new operations, this old timer likes to give them time to show their stuff before checking things out, but after hearing positive reports from fans, drivers, and announcer Doug Mealy, we picked this week to make our first visit.
 The infield pits were filling nicely when we arrived, but the grandstands seemed empty. When hot laps began promptly at 6:30, 88 cars had checked in, and as racing began at 7:00, the spacious bleachers began to fill, and the people kept coming as the heats clicked off, an unusally late arriving gathering, to say the least. With the track, pit, and seating configuration, RCR is a good place to watch racing, the lighting is good, and if you stay off the lower rows, track visibility is 100%.
 Following a lengthy intermission, feature racing kicked off  just before 9:00 and the passing points format the track uses had point leader Derek Agee on the front row for the nine car stock car 12 lap feature. A first lap melee out of turn two featured two separate hard collisions and knocked out four cars. Another caution waved as lap one was completed, but from that point we stayed green as Derek Agee kept his #14 out front flag to flag to best Chad Walter.
 All eight hobby stocks took the green, and following a first lap yellow, the 12 laps went green the rest of the way. Tim Dawson has dominated the class in 2013, and he led all the way from his front row start. Former Quincy Raceway regular Jim Brown came from row three to the runnerup spot.
 The ten lap hornet feature came next, with 11 of the 12 cars checked in taking the green. Again, the caution came out on lap one, But following the restart, Robert Winfrey grabbed the lead from his row one start. But Kyle Burton kept his # 20 close, taking over mid race for his second win of the season.
 The B-mod 15 lapper was next, 18 of 21 entrants came to the grid. What else, a lap one caution took out three of those starters, and a lap two pileup took out veteran late model racer Gary Wilson, wheeling a # 75M.  Cody Erwin was penalized two spots for jumping the restart, turning the lead over to Hedrick,Iowa racer Scott VanBuskirk. Erwin regained the lead and held on through a lap seven caution for debris, with Van Buskirk crossing the line in second.
  All 15 ULMA late models came to the grid, but Zeke Langley needed a push off from the front stretch staging area, and his # 23Z would not refire, ending his night. Point leader Vance Wilson started on the pole, with number two point man Kenny Mudd alongside. Vance checked out before a lap 12 caution came out as Brandon Imhoff smacked the turn three outside concrete wall. Meanwhile, Ryan Petersheim, who struggled in his heat and started in the back of the 20 lapper, had his # 86 on the move, and was sixth as the yellow flew. As the lineup was reset, the second running Mudd encountered mechanical issues, ending his run, although he reentered the race on a restart five laps later. Bobby Penney inherited the second spot on the Delaware restart, and stayed within striking distance of Vance through the final caution. With three laps to go, Petersheim, who was running fifth, slowed and appeared ready to pull off the track, when he suddenly got back to full speed. Vance Willson picked up the win ahead of Penney and veteran Tommy Cordray. Vances' brother Terry Wilson started sixth and finished fourth, while crate racer Cliff Powell, another Quincy regular, came from 12th to fifth. Steve Dieckmann, Chris Cox, and Petersheim followed, the top eight all on the lead lap.
 The final race of the night was the 23 car 20 lap USRA modified main. Two hard chargers, Matt Dotson and Danny Crane held the front row, and as with every class except the late models, a first lap yellow stopped the action, although the lap was scored with the pile up in turns three and four. Dotson grabbed the lead following another false start and opened a big lead. He continued on through a lap ten stoppage, but during a lap 15 caution, his car quit in turn four with apparent rear end issues. Crane inherited the top spot, surviving a caution one lap later, then another on the white flag lap, setting up a green, white, checkers dash. Throughout the final five laps, Chase Breid and Kevin Blackburn had dueled side by side and back and fourth for the runnerup spot, but following the final restart, Tim Dotson slipped around Blackburn for third at the checkers. Ryan Middaugh completed the top five.
The final checkers waved about 11:10. The crew at RCR did a good job of keeping the show moving, the only negatives would be the too long intermission, and the fact that there was only one wrecker and a roll back on hand. With Moberly being a fast track with concrete walls on both the inside and outside of the track, multiple wreckers are almost a necessity. All in all, it was a good show, and it is great to see this very nice facility coming back to life.
 Tonight, Sunday, the ALMS late models are topping the card at Quincy Raceways with a $2,000 top prize. Kevin Weaver leads the ALMS west division points, and we are looking for several top UMP racers to be on hand, including the top two in national points, Brandon Sheppard and Bobby Pierce, coming to challenge our hard charging regulars. UMP modifieds, IMCA sport mods, IMCA stock cars and IMCA sport compacts will also be on hand. Maybe I will see you there!